The River Seine is open to Olympic swimmers. Could that work in the Charles? - The Boston Globe

The swimmability of the River Seine has been a significant story in the media coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics. Paris has been working to clean up the Seine, where swimming has been banned for over a century, with plans to host open water Olympic triathlon and marathon swimming competitions in the river. How does our beloved Charles River compare?

“Reputation aside, the Charles is actually cleaner than the Seine in terms of E. coli bacterial contamination from waste water runoff and old sewer-to-river connections, even though Paris spent more than $1 billion to clean the river before hosting the Olympics.” writes Erin Douglas, climate reporter for The Boston Globe.

E.coli data shows that the Charles is much cleaner than the “Dirty Water” days, but not clean enough to reopen beaches. It’s time to finish the job!